The mbers of the Heavenly chanism Martial Alliance were a mixed bag. Only a few, like Huangfu Zhan and Zhao Xinghe, were truly loyal to Long Tianji. Others, like Wei Shanhe, were bound to his cause simply because his granddaughter had thrown her lot in with him, tying him to the sa boat.
The rest were either captives Long Tianji had taken, opportunists who would take advantage of any benefits but flee at the first sign of trouble, or spies planted by other factions.
If their enemies were rely eggs trying to smash a stone, they wouldn't mind playing the executioner. But when they knew *they* were the eggs, staying ant certain death. Only a fool would remain.
Imdiately, without waiting for Lin Tang to say a word, soone took the lead and started to flee, inciting others to run as they went. So even put on a tragic display, feigning to offer bitter but necessary advice as they knelt and begged Lin Tang to run with them, justifying it with the noble-sounding platitude of "living to fight another day."
"Hmph!"
The Lin Tang of today was not soone to be trifled with. rciful and soft-hearted? Not a chance. He rely saw them as tools. And as tools, they needed to have the proper mindset.
Thus, Lin Tang casually waved his hand. The fastest among the escapees instantly scread in agony before bursting into clouds of blood mist, like a string of firecrackers.
The remaining people stood frozen in place, not daring to move a muscle. Beads of sweat stread down their faces as Lin Tang's demonic whisper echoed clearly in their ears.
"Anyone else want to run? Please, continue! Hmm? Why have you stopped? I told you to continue, didn't you hear ? AH!"
Another series of explosions erupted. Even though they stood perfectly still, people around them continued to detonate, splattering them with blood. Terrified and pale, they all collapsed to their knees and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Lord Long Tianji, spare our lives!"
"We'll never dare again! Please, withdraw your divine power..."
Whether they were loyal or disloyal, all of them beca exceptionally obedient. Whatever Lin Tang asked them to do, they did imdiately, without a second's hesitation.
The army of the Evil God Alliance, comprised of experts wielding divinely-bestowed powers, advanced unopposed, moving with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, they arrived near the volcano where Lin Tang was located.
Looking out, they saw Lin Tang's subordinates arrayed in neat formations, poised for battle. It was clear they had been waiting for so ti.
"Eh?"
"The Central Earth Official actually dared to tip him off? It seems they've chosen to side with Long Tianji, that baleful star!"
"Hah! Just wait for the stars to align and the gods to return. Then we'll settle the score with these foolish mortals, one by one!"
"I didn't expect Long Tianji to stick around instead of fleeing. He's truly arrogant..."
Guo Jufeng and the others had withdrawn their main force but had still brought a few experts to observe from nearby. When they saw this, their faces darkened.
"Damn it, how did Long Tianji know they were coming to attack? Now they'll misunderstand and think we were the ones who warned him!"
"After the Heavenly chanism Martial Alliance is destroyed and Long Tianji is defeated, we'll have to find a way to clear up this misunderstanding..."
"Don't tell one of us actually tipped him off? That's just asking for trouble!"
「At the base of the volcano」
The two forces faced each other across the distance, and the atmosphere grew heavy and murderous. Perod stepped forward leisurely, his voice resonating across the entire field.
"Long Tianji, you blasphemous heretic, you baleful star who brings chaos to the world! Today is the day you die. Do you have any last words?"
Lin Tang smiled faintly. "The Lord of Gluttony is your backer, right? I'm a little curious, is He your father or your son? You have such a sage-like appearance, so why are you mingling with such contemptible trash? It's really beneath you!"
"You!" Perod's expression contorted with fury. As a devout believer, how could he tolerate soone suggesting he was the father of his god? Enraged, he had no desire for further words. He imdiately rallied his forces to attack with a single order: kill on sight!
He, along with several others wielding artifacts bestowed by their gods, gathered and charged directly at Lin Tang. It was a battle of champions—soldiers against soldiers and generals against generals. A logical approach.
"Form up! Kill the enemy!" Lin Tang shouted, placing Wei Zichu at the core of the Formation where she would receive the most effective protection. Then, he too leaped into the fray, sword in hand, and charged forward.
Seeing that the situation was irreversible, Huangfu Zhan and the others knew they had no choice but to burn their bridges and fight to the death.
"Change!"
Holding their command tokens, they shifted the Formation. Though it was broad daylight, the surroundings suddenly dimd as points of starlight began to gleam. It was a scene both real and illusory, dreamlike and surreal, enveloping friend and foe alike.
BOOM!
Countless points of starlight coalesced into a dazzling sphere, as brilliant as the sun. The next mont, it transford into the massive phantom of a celestial archer's bow. The arrowhead pointed forward, emanating an unstoppable sharpness. The bow was drawn to its fullest, never missing its mark.
Streaks of light shot out like arrows, each one claiming a life. The experts of the Evil God Alliance were stunned at first, but they quickly adapted, changing their own formations and strategies. They seized upon the flaws revealed when Huangfu Zhan and his people transitioned between formations, launching a vicious counterattack.
In the span of a breath, both sides had already suffered grievous casualties.
anwhile, Lin Tang unleashed his sword. The blade's light was cold and fierce as countless phantoms of it filled the sky. However, several of his opponents combined their treasures' power to lock onto it, forcing the sword to slow from its blistering speed until it was frozen in the void. The Vestnt robe on Lin Tang's body shimred, projecting a protective shield that blocked the attacks of several other assailants.
SCREECH!
ROAR!
Fiery phantoms of a dragon and a phoenix materialized on either side of Lin Tang. With every punch and kick he threw, they amplified his destructive power. He charged alone into the encirclent, fighting with such intensity that the sky and earth grew dark, and the sun and moon lost their light.
In a flash, several more bodies had fallen. The remaining enemies, being fanatics, forgot all fear once the battle began, their resolve bolstered by their faith.
Lin Tang's Divine Sense swept out violently. Under normal circumstances, it could have destroyed their consciousness and scattered their souls, but this ti, it was ineffective. Instead, after several clashes, there was a growing risk of his own Divine Sense being "polluted" by their faith.
The sheer scale and intensity of the battle caused the solid rock at the base of the mountain to beco more fragile than thin ice in early spring. Vast quantities of stone were pulverized into dust as the ground collapsed and sank. Boulders tumbled down the slopes, and the forests caught fire. From high above, if the landscape were skin, their path of destruction would look like a rapidly spreading case of psoriasis.
The subordinates who had followed Guo Jufeng's group had initially harbored quiet grievances about their superior's order to retreat. Military orders were absolute, so they had to obey, but they burned with indignation, feeling that the mighty Central Earth shouldn't be so cowardly. Now, as they watched, they all gasped in horror.
This level of destructive power was terrifying! Even a full artillery barrage would pale in comparison. Only a large-scale strategic superweapon could match it, but using such a thing would lead to mutual destruction.
"I can't believe the people from the Heavenly chanism Martial Alliance are actually able to hold their ground against them, even temporarily! It's incredible!" Guo Jufeng and the others were equally stunned.
They all knew that aside from Long Tianji, the Heavenly chanism Martial Alliance was nothing but a disorganized mob whose strongest mbers were rely at the Master realm. They had never imagined that Long Tianji could perform such a miracle, turning decay into sothing magical by bestowing upon them such a profound Formation. It had amplified their collective strength exponentially. Without that Formation, they would have been wiped out in the first exchange.
As Guo Jufeng's group watched the fire from the safety of the opposite shore, the battle quickly reached a fever pitch.
The Heavenly chanism Martial Alliance, after all, had only practiced the Formation for a short ti. Combined with their weak willpower and low morale, the frequency of their mistakes increased with every change in formation. As a result, their casualty rate began to climb significantly higher than their opponents'. As their strength waned, their enemies' only grew, making it harder and harder for them to resist.
They could only retreat step by step, falling back behind the walls of the mountain fortress. The fortress itself possessed various defensive Formations, which they activated one after another, allowing them to hold on a little longer. But to any discerning eye, they were only delaying the inevitable. Their defeat seed to be a foregone conclusion.
On Lin Tang's side, however, he was steadily gaining the upper hand. He was like a fierce tiger charging into a flock of sheep; no one could face him head-on. While they had managed to immobilize his deadly flying sword, that very sword was also tying up a portion of their forces. The rest died one by one. It seed he only needed to slaughter these few opponents before he could support his subordinates and annihilate the remaining enemies.
However, as the number of his besiegers dwindled, their blood and souls were silently swallowed by a bloody sheepskin parchnt.
Just as Lin Tang finally cornered and killed the fanatic wielding the Eye of Truth, the man's body dissolved into a liquid that flowed entirely into his own eyeball. At the sa instant, the parchnt transford into a ram's skull with curved horns wreathed in dark, ghostly fire.
WHOOSH!
The eyeball flew into the empty socket of the ram's head. The skull's jaw opened in a grotesque grin as it let out a guttural growl.
"Hngh... In the na of the Sea of the Undead, I grant you death... Gya-ge-ge-ge-ei..."
As the strange, mumbled incantation echoed, a hum filled the air.
BUZZ!
An invisible wave of light rippled outward, causing the entire scene within a radius of several thousand ters to freeze, as if a movie fra had gotten stuck. Everything ca to a halt.
Lin Tang, who had just hamred another man to death, suddenly beca completely motionless.
"Now!"
Several mysterious entities that had been secretly observing from behind a spatial rift seized the opportunity to manifest. With fearso claws and fangs bared, they lunged toward Lin Tang's body.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
They successfully burrowed into Lin Tang's mind.
Guo Jufeng's pupils shrank in shock. Long Tianji is finished! He's about to be possessed! It's impossible to know which mysterious entity will take over his body, but one thing is certain: he will not survive.
After a mont of daze, the mbers of the Heavenly chanism Martial Alliance regained their senses just in ti to witness this scene. Utter despair washed over them.
"Uncle Long!!!"
Wei Zichu stood completely stupefied, as if her very soul had been ripped from her body. Just a few hours ago, she and he had been so intimately intertwined, but now she could only watch, powerless, as they were separated by death. Pain! Her heart ached with an unbearable agony!
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